The Greatest Man I Never Knew
by myagrace
Summary: Based on the song. What happens when Bella moves into a new building? Does she want to know who her mystery neighbor is? Or is it too late when they actually meet? Now a two shot. Tissues!
1. Chapter 1

Hey guy! I know some of you have already read this, but I found some mistakes when I went back over it for the 4th or 5th time. So, I'm just replacing a chapter, and then hitting the complete button. So no worries. If I still missed a few things, sorry.

Ok so I decided to write this little story. Just a one shot. But I just had to write it. It got stuck in my head and I couldn't help it.

It's heavily based on the song, 'the greatest man I never knew' by Reba McEntire.

I don't own the song, or Twilight. SM owns Twi.

Let me know what you guys think of it.

Tissue! Tissue! Tissue! I'm warning you now.

* * *

><p>TGMINK<p>

I still can't believe all of this. My life changed drastically about a year ago and now I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do next. Well, it was actually longer than a year ago, but that was when things really started to change for me.

I guess starting at the beginning would be a good idea…

I've been living in this building for about three years. There was only two apartments on this floor, well, penthouses were more like it. They were pretty big and spacious. Even though it was just me, I wanted my own space to do as I wanted.

My parents had died a few years ago and they had always wanted me to move out of the neighborhood I was in and get a place that was safe. 'We only have one child, we want you to be safe and taken care of' is what they always said. I didn't know that they meant more than just my home.

They had saved so much damn money and invested it so well, that I didn't know what to do when the lawyer told me what was left to me. I sat there for about twenty minutes, literally with my jaw on the floor. I was fucking speechless.

So after their deaths, I did what they wanted, and found this great place that looked over Seattle. It was a splurge, yes, but for one thing, I wanted a new start, and wanted to honor them. And the fact that I would probably never spend all of my inheritance, in my lifetime, made me jump for it with both feet first.

I don't really splurge on much else. I did get a good, safe car. But I had still been driving the old red beast my dad got me when I was sixteen, and it was on it's last damn leg. I think it's sitting in a junkyard somewhere. _Poor Red…_

Anyways, when I first moved in, I hadn't noticed anyone in the other apartment at first. There had been no one going in or out. Or if they did, it was with the stealth of a fucking ninja.

It wasn't until after two weeks of living there, did I see my neighbor… _Hooo-ly shit…_

The man was… utter perfection. Lickable jaw, straight nose, bright emerald green eyes, smirk that just got you hot and bothered, oh and let's not forget the hair… sex hair to be exact. Even though I've never heard a damn noise from his place, he always looks like he's been freshly fucked… I never see a woman coming or going, if I think about it now…

Anywho, the first time I saw him, I was on my way to get some take-out and just about to get onto the elevator, and he was coming out of it on our floor.

I didn't say anything at first, because really? What do you say when you're hit in the face with this fucking god? Seriously, I'd like to know. I'm still trying to figure it out.

When he looked up as he was coming out of the elevator, he saw me just staring at him and smirked. Then the fucker winked at me, then walked down the hall to his door.

It was only then that I saw what he was wearing, and holy mother of… it was a wonder I was still vertical. He was in a dark charcoal suit, with lavender pinstripes, a white button up, and a purple and green striped tie… God save me, the man was trying to kill me… the tie just set his eyes off so fucking well that I wanted to let him tie me up with it… Oh my god, I've got to stop thinking about that. I'll never get to the story if I don't.

So once that awkward meeting was out of the way, I would always see him coming or going, in the distance out in Seattle, never really talking. He seemed extremely private, always keeping to himself. I guess I can relate. I've never really been miss popular or really had a ton of friends.

I had only seen two other guys coming around his place. Now, he didn't seem to be gay, but come on. What's the first thing you think of when a guy that well dressed keeps to himself like that, and you've never seen a female around, and now there's two guys always at his place? Exactly. But we'll get to that later… trust me.

I found the reason he wasn't really quite as quiet as I thought. He traveled a lot. Not so much in tons of trips, but when he left, it was for at least a week, if not two or three.

If I had just read the fucking newspapers better, I'd have known what was going on…_ NO!_ I will not blame him, and I will not blame myself.

So for several months, we would randomly see each other in the hall, the lobby, or whatever, but I still didn't know his name. I guess I could have asked the manager, but I didn't want to invade his privacy like that.

I did, however, notice when he saw me, his eyes automatically dilated, with just the thin ring of green around the edge. It looked like he was possessed or something.

I even felt him smell me on a regular basis. Now, normally that would bother me, and make me extremely self-conscious. But when he did it, I felt a shiver run up and down my spine, in a very good way.

I just hope he never saw it happen…

Anyways, the one time I almost killed him, was the first time he spoke to me. It wasn't much, but the simple 'hello, beautiful' had my hand in my pants the second my door to my place was closed. I'm not even kidding, that was the starring sound in my spank bank. That and the tie…

Oh right, the reason I wanted to kill him? He kept that sound from me for over a year… A FUCKING YEAR! Do you realize I could have been having the most intense orgasms for over a year with that sound in my head, but no! I was deprived! The sound almost makes you want to weep with joy, that's how fucking awesome it is for me.

Moving on.

I started getting worried once when he hadn't come back for almost a month. Shouldn't he or someone have checked on his place? And where was he? Was he ok?

When he finally came home, I was so happy at first. But then I saw that he had a broken arm and looked a little worn and… almost beaten.

When I saw him get off the elevator that day, I almost ran over to hug him. But I thought better of it. We didn't really know each other and that'd probably be insanely weird. But I wanted it so badly.

He had given me a bright smile when he saw me. And the passing 'Glad to see that beautiful face again' made me turn to goo. Really? How fucking sweet is that? I've never had someone say that to me.

Things had started changing. In interesting ways, really. I noticed odd guys around the building, some of them around when I would go to work or around town. That should have been a tipping point there. But I didn't think anything of it at the time.

Things between the two of us had started changing too. We started talking a bit more in the halls, or when we saw each other at the coffee shop down the street. He always called me beautiful. It made me blush, and I never really thought of myself that way, but he seemed to think so.

He always looked around when we were together too. Like he was scoping out if anyone was staring or paying attention to us. Another sign I should have seen… But he never made me feel like he didn't want to talk to me. He seemed to crave it, actually. Which was weird for me…. Wait, nope, not weird because I craved to talk to him too. Or listen to him. God, that voice was straight fucking honey.

After living beside each other for over a year and a half, I finally found out that his name was Edward. Old fashioned, yes, but who gave a fuck. It was perfect for him. I had even heard him threaten his little brother, as I had come to find out was one of the guys that were always around, if he didn't stop calling him Eddie. I can't blame him, though. Eddie just doesn't suit him. Emmett never relented though. I thought Edward would bust a vein in his forehead one day when Emmett called him that in the street.

Edward was… really sweet, actually. He always held the elevator for me, opened my car door for me a few times when we walked out together, kissed my hand when we were saying goodbye, always with the beautiful compliment. Perfect gentleman, right?

You would think so, until I found out who he and his family were.

And by the time that I found out, I was pretty sure I was falling hard for Edward. He had managed to steal my heart.

Ok, so finding out didn't really change my opinion on Edward, or how I felt about him. But it did being certain danger. The kind that you see in movies.

Edward was a mobster.

Scared the ever loving shit out of me the first time I heard him tell me, but after about an hour and a bottle of vodka between us, I was able to focus a little better. He told me about his family, the Italian mob. The Cullen's.

See, this is why I should have read the fucking paper. I would have known this shit and could have avoided a very painful hangover the next morning.

But I did learn that he was the oldest son. He and his two brothers, Emmett and Jasper were part of the family business. Which wasn't just mob stuff. They did actually have businesses to run. Hotels, casinos, foundations, which he told me his mother, Esme, usually took that part upon herself. The sister-in-laws, Alice and Rosalie, helped Esme out with the foundation stuff, as well. It was a very close family.

He said he had already known most of the things about me, since he ran a background check after the first day he saw me. I wasn't sure if I should be flattered, or appalled. I'll go with flattered for now. He wanted to know all about me, but was afraid to get me involved in his life. I guess I could see the logic there.

He told me that it was going to start getting harder for us to be around each other, and how unsafe it would be for me. Especially since I knew. I could be killed just for living next door to him… which scared me out of my mind, but it was worth it to be near him.

I think I'm too far in, as it is.

He said he would probably start holding up in his apartment for a while, since there were people out looking for him. At that, I was officially freaking out. If they knew where he lived, they could just as easily come here and kill him.

I had started crying when I thought about him not being here anymore.

That night was the first night we had sex. It was beyond intense. But oh so fucking perfect. He was gentle, caring, attentive. It's how I wanted to spend all day, everyday. No joke. I would if I could.

He had calmed my nerves, somewhat, that night. But he also asked me to stay with him for a while, at his place. And if I could take a few days from work to get things together to stay there.

I had no qualms about staying with him. We had become so close lately, that you would have thought we'd been together for years as a couple.

I had found out that Edward hated relationships, anything that made you 'weak' in the eyes of the mob. He told me that relationships, real relationships, for the mob, were not unlike arranged marriages. You were lucky if you found someone you really loved and were able to marry them. But it had been ingrained into Edward from Edward's grandfather, at a young age, 'Don't bother with relationships. Nothing will come of it.'

I say bullshit to that.

But back to us shacking up together.

I couldn't help but smile the first morning we woke up together in his bed. Knowing we didn't have to run around, or me run next door for clothes, or anything. Just us, together, and happy.

We had a routine started that week. We would wake up in Edward's bed, have awesome morning sex, sometimes in the shower (yum), I would get dressed and Edward would stay home. He insisted I take a bodyguard, or five with me to work. I reminded him I was the daughter of a cop and avid hunter, but his response was, 'humor me, love'…

Yeah, he started saying that a lot lately. I really liked it, too.

He also insisted that I carry a gun with me at all times, too. I wasn't going to fight him on that one. I knew how he felt on the subject, so it was always either on my body or in my bag.

I would go into work with the 'entourage', as I had started calling them. Peter, Ben, Eric, Sam, and Paul. All huge guys, all 'protecting' me. Sam had started calling me Mrs. Cullen by the end of the week… and I'm not ashamed to say that I didn't correct him. I really liked how it sounded. And that it was associated with being with Edward.

Yeah, I was totally fucking in love with him. There was no way I couldn't be. Sam just said he could see it in both of our eyes. Even though we hadn't said anything to each other about it.

That worried me a bit. I know he's always been reluctant to have me be a part of his life, which is nothing but danger. But the fact that I stay around, should give him a pretty good idea that I'm not going to be scared away and that I love him.

It did seem like an unspoken understanding between us, though. After a while, I saw what Sam was talking about. His eyes were so vibrant now. As opposed to when I first moved into the building and saw him. He always looked like the stern, commanding, and harsh businessman that everyone thought he was. He really wasn't. not with me. He was soft and tender with me. He was playful, caring, always got my sarcastic side. It always made me feel safe, wanted and… loved… Well fuck. I guess I should have seen that one at that point.

One of the nights he came with his driver to pick me up from work, the shit hit the fan.

He had gotten out of the car and was coming up to meet me at the door. It was later in the evening, and I was closing up the bookstore that I owned.

We heard footsteps approaching, and Edward held me by the waist, tightly, as he started pulling me towards the car. But the man behind us already had his gun out and pointing at us.

"Fucking James…" Edward muttered under his breath.

He had told me that this guy was one of the ones looking for him. He worried that his family had gone too long without hearing anything from James' family, and now we knew why. James was finding a way to get Edward alone… or as alone as he could get.

"Oh, Edward, I thought you had forgotten about me. So sweet." James gushed, sarcastically. "I just wish you hadn't given me a bigger reason to kill you. I know the lions will come after me, but just getting you out of the way… will make it all worth it." Then he turned and leered at me. "And maybe even get a consolation prize out of it, as well…"

At that, my skin crawled, and my anger raged. I made my way to step towards him, but Edward caught me around the waist, holding me back as I tried to get my hands on this asshole in front of me. "I'm no one's consolation, you fucking tool! You'll keep your filthy fucking hands to yourself, or I'll cut them off, along with your excuse for a dick!" I guess I was a little mad…

He raised an eyebrow at me, with a smirk. "Oooh, feisty one, huh Edward? I love em that way. Makes it all the more fun…" He licked his lips, and I almost puked. I actually think I gagged, though. That shit just made me feel the bile rising.

"Baby, don't. He's just looking for an excuse. Trust me, he won't be around for long. I'll kill him myself and let his blood drain out, slowly." Edward whispered in my ear, calming some of the rage in me.

"Now, now Isabella. You know it's not nice to threaten people. What would your cop daddy think about that? Hmm?" He sneered at me, and that just hit a chord in me. I could feel the fire in my damn eyes as I went for my gun in the back of my jeans.

James raised his own gun and shot at Edward. This was his plan. Get us both distracted so Edward was focused on me, and I was focused on James, while James was able to get a shot off at him. What kind of person am I that I didn't see this coming?

"Fuck! NO!" I screamed as Edward landed on the ground at my feet.

I pulled the gun up and took aim at James. I took my shot and got him in the shoulder first.

"You bitch! You'll pay for that!" He screamed at me, as he hit the ground and started squiring around. I shot again and hit his knee. Maybe that'll keep him occupied for a while.

I was at Edward's side in a flash, holding his face in my hands.

"Look at me, damn it. Look at me! Edward, stay with me, baby. You're gonna be ok. You're gonna be fine. Please. You have to fight for me." I kept trying to get him to focus.

"Bell- Bella, baby." Edward choked out. He kept looking straight ahead at me.

"I'm right here, I'm not leaving you. Sam's calling for someone to get here. Hold on, hold on to me. Please… I can't do this without you…" I really didn't want to tell him like this… Fuuuuuccccckk.

"God, it hurts so much, babe. So much more than it ever has before… _fuuccck!_" He got out in between gasps.

He started letting his eyes droop shut, but I had to keep him conscious. I'd never get him back if he let it take him over.

I smacked his cheek slightly. "Don't you dare! Don't you fucking leave me, Edward Anthony Cullen! We can't do this without you! We need you here!" He fought to get his eyes back open but it was so hard for him. "Goddamnit, Edward! You're going to be a father! You can't let him grow up without you!" I started screaming.

His eyes popped open and focused on me. "Fa-father? I'm… gonna be daddy?" I saw his eyes fill with tears.

"Yes! Edward, I don't know what to do here. I can't do it alone." I started crying. "What if someone comes after him?"

Edward deftly reached into his pocket, and pulled out a key. He handed it to me and closed my hand over it. "This will be… all that you need to… have once I'm gone… Make sure you read it all… Everything will be ok… I promise…"

"No, Edward! Don't talk like that! Please, you can't leave me! Damn it, I love you. I can't fucking lose you like this!" I was full out crying my eyes out now, as I was trying to keep pressure on his stomach, where the bullet hit.

He squeezed his eyes shut, and pulled my other hand up to his lips to kiss them. He looked like he was trying to say something, but he started coughing… coughing up blood.

_Shit!_

He had been losing too much fucking blood and it didn't seem to be stopping.

"Goddamnit, Sam! Where the fuck is that van for him? He can't stay out here like this!" I yelled over at the car.

"They'll be here soon, Bella! They're trying to get around traffic!" He yelled back over to me.

"Fucking Seattle bullshit!" I hissed under my breath.

Edward's breaths became shorter, more gasping.

"Edward please, stay with me. _Please_. We have to watch our son grow up, together. He has to look like you. There's no other way I could imagine him. Your gorgeous green eyes, your unruly bronze hair, your perfect jaw, your smirk… the smile that made me fall in love with you. If you don't pass that on to him, I'll seriously consider finishing this job, myself. You can't _not_ pass that along to our children." I tried to joke, but couldn't put the effort forth to laugh. I needed to focus on him.

I saw his lip twitch. He knew me so well that even now, he knew what I was trying to do.

He grabbed both of my hands, brought them both to his lips, kissed them, then brought them to lay over his chest… over his heart.

More tears sprang from my eyes. He was trying to tell me that he loved me.

"_So…much…" _He croaked, hoarsely under his breath, as his breathing slowed.

He then brought one of our joined hands to my belly. And then he mouthed, "Take care of both of you…" He trailed off.

His eyes were closing again, and this time, I couldn't get him to open them back.

"NO! Goddamnit, Edward! Come back to me!_ Pllleeeeaaasse!_" I screamed, as I crumpled over his chest.

I cried my eyes out over his body. Kept screaming that I loved him… but there was nothing else… The love of my life was gone.

I noticed James still on the ground by the building. I squared my shoulders, stood up, gun in hand, and walked over to where he was. My jaw was set in place as I stared at him. This man killed the man I loved… the father of my child. There was no way in hell he was leaving here in anything but a body bag, if that's the way Edward was leaving now.

I remembered back to things Edward and I talked about. Things to do with the mob and how things went.

"You took something incredibly valuable to me, _James_. You took away my love… my son's father. You threatened the mother of a mobster's son. You threatened the _family_ then. That doesn't go unpunished. You know, Edward taught me well. My _cop daddy_ did too. He taught me how to shoot, as well. Always took me to the shooting range. I got pretty damn good too… Want to see?" I raised an eyebrow at him, as I raised my gun to his head, also.

"You don't have what it takes to take a life. This isn't for the sweet little cop's daughter who thinks she can be a badass. It takes a certain kind of person to do what we do, honey." He tried to reason, but there was something he needed to realize.

"You don't fuck with the family. Especially mine. I may seem like the 'sweet cop's daughter' to you, but there's one thing you don't know…" I took a step towards him and kneeled down in front of him, gun still pointed at him. "_You just fucked up… You messed with the wrong lion."_ I stated in an eerily calm whisper. Then stood back up, grabbed the gun with both hands and shot him in the head, then the heart.

After the funeral, I had told the family about the baby. I wanted something happy to help us all deal with this. It didn't take the pain away, but it helped us all cope. A part of Edward would be living on and it brought a slight smile to my face that I would always have him with me in that way.

Esme and Carlisle wanted me to move in with them for a while. And I accepted. I didn't know what I was doing, being a mother, going through pregnancy and all of the mob stuff on top of that. It was so overwhelming.

Esme came with me to Edward's place to clear some stuff out. I wanted to keep his place, and most of his stuff, but I wanted to make it mine too. We had been doing this little by little since we started staying there all the time. So this just seemed like the next step for us if… well, if things hadn't gone the way they did…

I remembered the key Edward gave me, and I wanted to find out what he had for me to see.

I tried to figure out what it went to, but was coming up empty. There weren't any other doors in this place. So that made me think of a safe. But, where, was the question…

I looked around the apartment, and my eyes landed on the large picture of the two of us that had been taken at his parent's house, one time when we were there for dinner. It was cheesy to think he covered a safe with a picture of us, but this was Edward.

I went over to it and checked behind it. _Bingo!_

I carefully took the picture down, and looked at the safe in front of me. There was a keypad and a keyhole.

The keyhole was easy, but the keypad… _fuck!_

I tried his birthday, parent's birthdays, address, phone, _anything!_ Nothing was working. I even tried my birthday. But still nothing.

Then I got to thinking about it. Edward was someone who was nothing, if not practical. So it had to be a number that he remembered, and had significance… Maybe…

I got up from my spot on the floor and tried the date that I thought about… and it worked…

_You remembered…_

The day we first saw each other.

I let a few tears fall as I opened the safe door and looked inside. There were documents upon documents in there.

I started going through things and came across an envelope that was on top of everything… and it had my name on it…

_Shit…_

I opened it up and read the letter he left to me.

_My dear Isabella,_

_Many things have happened if you've found this. One; I didn't make it out of whatever shit I got myself into. I'm so sorry, my love. I wanted nothing more than to be with you right now, watching TV in bed, eating takeout, and planning our future. One of which I will address…_

_Bella, you'll never truly understand what you've done to me. If you got into this safe, then you figured out the code was the date of the first time I saw that beautiful face of yours. It's a day that I will NEVER forget. It was a day that changed everything in my life. I wanted so much to tell you that you were incredibly special to me from that first day. _

_You are the only woman that I've ever fallen in love with. I know I've never said it out loud, but I tried to show you. I was so afraid of what would happen if you were too deep into my life… I couldn't risk anything happening to you. But you have to know that I love you with everything that I am. You are the reason for me to breath. You were always my match, in every way possible. Just being around you made me calm. I've never had that from anyone before. You always made everything effortless._

_There are a few things that you need to know. First, you will always be protected by my family. They know this already, but you need to know, as well. You are part of this family now._

_Which brings me to the second thing. There should be a small, velvet box next to this letter._

I looked back up into the safe, and sure enough, there was a box.

_It's for you, my love. I've been trying to find the perfect way to ask you, for so long now. But if I still haven't by now, I still want you to have it. It was my grandmother's and she told me to give it to the one woman I would spend the rest of my life with. There was nothing more that I wanted in this world, then to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you, so much. I can't imagine how hard it will be for you when I'm gone, but I know I'll miss you everyday. _

_I guess since I haven't asked by now, now would be a good a time as any._

_Isabella Swan, I promise to love you every moment of forever. Will you marry me?_

_I know it's not the same, but I needed it out there. It would have always been you. Never, ever doubt that, my love._

_Which brings me to the next thing. There should also be a marriage certificate, along with this letter. I had every option open for when I asked you to marry me. So I had the certificate drawn up. It's already dated, stamped and all that. It just needs your signature. If you choose not to, then I do understand. But it would have given me the greatest joy to call you Mrs. Edward Cullen. I'm just sorry I'll never get to, now._

_Everything is yours. I've left it all to you. The penthouse, all of my accounts, the cars, the hotels, they're all yours. Do with them what you see fit. I don't expect you to run them, if you don't feel up to it. But they would have belonged to you, sooner or later. I want you to always remember me. Even though I know it will be hard, know I'll always be by your side. I'll never fucking leave you. _

_Baby, I'm so sorry I'm not there with you now. You'll never know how sorry I am. I wanted to grow old with you and watch our children grow in you belly. Be there when they're born, watch their first steps, first words, first day of school, graduations, walking our little girl down the isle when she gets married, watching our grandkids grow up… That's all I ever wanted for us. _

_I want you to stay with mom and dad for a bit. At least until whatever happened blows over. It doesn't usually just drop when one of us dies. There could be someone who knows you'll be alone and vulnerable. I want you to be careful. Keep your security team with you, always. I trust them to keep you safe._

_Don't hesitate to ask my parents for anything. You're family, and you know mom already loves you like her own daughter. Don't let my not being there change that. I know how lonely you've been since your folks died. You need them, too._

_Em and Jazz will always be around to watch out for you, too. And Alice and Rose… well, let's just say they've been around the guns, also. _

_Think about everything, my love. I would never think ill of you if you didn't want to be my wife, but you will always be that to me. Even in death. _

_I'll wait here for you, beautiful. Until you're ready to come and meet me here, take care of yourself._

_I'll be watching over you, and protecting you, always._

_With all the love I have in me,_

_Your Edward._

At this point, I was a sobbing, heaving mess on the floor. Esme had come in and held me as I kept reading his letter. There was so much that he didn't tell me before. I wasn't expecting him to do any of this… actually none of it. I just wanted to be able to stay in his place for a while. To be able to cope with his loss. I know they say not to wallow, but this was all I had left of him, along with our baby. I wanted our child to be surrounded by his father.

But… Why?.. Why didn't he ask me before? Why didn't he tell me before that he loved me?

All of this, though, has taught me one thing: Don't wait. If you know it's what you want with all your heart and soul, take it. Take that chance, that leap of faith. Love is worth the risk. Don't take it for granted. You don't know when it will be gone.

With that in mind, I stood up from where I was in Esme's arms, picked up the letter and handed it to her. I grabbed the ring box, and the folder that was under the letter and walked to his desk. I opened up the box, and saw the most exquisite ring ever. It was oval, with a line of diamonds down the middle, and that was surrounded by diamonds as well. It was so perfect.

My mind made up, I looked over at Esme, who had tears in her eyes from the letter. And without a second thought, pulled the ring from the box and placed it on my left hand. Then I found a pen, and immediately signed my name to the marriage certificate.

I looked at the marriage certificate in my hand and sighed. "You'll always be my husband, too. No matter what."

I put it back in the folder, along with the letter, and set it aside, so I could put it back in the safe when we were done.

We found his will, and he did leave everything to me.

_What the hell do I know about hotels?_

I'll deal with that later.

After that day, things were different… in a good way. Esme and Carlisle helped me with my things to be taken to their place, for now. I also got a few of Edward's things sent there, too. I couldn't be that far away from him.

They also helped me with getting better acquainted with the family business. Some of the other mobsters were a little unnerved by the fact that I was the one that killed James, but they can all go to hell. He killed my husband. I would have gladly put the cement around his feet, had it not been for the fact that I was pregnant. Heavy stuff and all that. Bleh.

The family was so helpful through it all. We helped each other through the grief and pushed forward so that we could get ready for baby Cullen.

Yep, he was definitely going to have the Cullen name. His father was a Cullen, and I had changed my name to Cullen.

And boy, did baby Cullen start growing. I had been having my ups and downs with my pregnancy, but things seemed to be on schedule. My belly had been swelling, and I couldn't help the times that I cried because Edward wasn't here with me for this.

I visited him at the family plot, many times. It helped with the closure. I talked to him there, and told him about how things were going with me, and how the baby was growing. It made me feel like I was healing.

And here I am today. Having just given birth to our twins.

Yep, I said twins. A little girl, and a little boy. Both were the spitting image of Edward. I didn't care that they didn't get my hair, or eyes, or whatever. They were so much more than I could ever have asked for. I think it was Edward giving me that little extra bit of himself to live on.

I'm not gonna lie, I cried the whole time I was in labor. Not from the pain, but because I didn't realize how much I missed him being there. I needed his hand to hold, his voice to coach me through each contraction. But I felt him there with me. Like he said, he would always be by my side. He never left me.

There was a knock at my door, and Esme poked her head in. "Bella? You ready for the little angels?"

I smiled as I saw the little bassinets. I nodded vigorously and she brought them in to me. She handed me little Edward. I still wasn't sure if I would call him E.J., or not yet. But he did have a name.

And Esme held Elizabeth in her arms while I got little Edward situated for his feeding.

"You know how proud he would be right now?" Esme asked, quietly.

I knew exactly who she was talking about.

"Yeah. I don't think the smile would have ever come off of his face. I just can't help but… wonder what would have happened…" I felt the tears making their way out again.

"Shhh, honey. Don't do that to yourself. I have no doubt he would have grown the balls to ask you to marry him as soon as possible. You would be sitting here, both rocking your angels to sleep together." I saw her own tears welling up now.

"Es…" I trailed off.

"We'll always tell them about him. Make sure they know who their daddy was and how much he already loved them. And what a good man he was…" Esme stated as she cradled Elizabeth to her.

"He's the greatest man they never knew…"

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><p>Sooo? Good? Bad? Sad, I know, but that's just how the story worked out. Sorry *sad face*<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Heya! I know, I said this was gonna be a one shot… I lied. So here's a second chapter, an update on Bella's life, if you will. I got to thinking that it might be nice to see where things went when I left off from before.

SM owns Twilight, not me. Wish I did though.

Hope you guys like it!

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><p>"Eli! I don't know how many times I've told you not to shoot at your brother!" I yelled out the back door, to where they were fighting with each other by the river.<p>

"MOM! He scratched my damn car! What else am I suppose to do? Let it slide? Fucker won't learn a lesson if I do! Now, if I shoot him in the shoulder, then he might watch whose stuff he fucks up!" Elizabeth yelled from her spot, still holding her gun.

"EJ! ELI! Get up here, NOW!" I yelled, letting the backdoor slam shut behind me.

They both knew they better follow, or there would be hell to pay. Being in this family for so long, I've become more like…them. Well, I've become more adapted to the no-nonsense attitude the mob instills in you. Actually, some of the guys that work for the family are a little scared of me… not sure why that is, but it could be, in part, due to Edward. Knowing that I was his wife, they seemed to scurry away if I was around. I had even heard one of them saying, 'Dude, she scares the shit out of me. She was the boss' woman. You don't cross her and expect to live.'

Ok, so I may have shot someone when I was pregnant. But in my defense, the guy was pissing me off, I was an emotional mess, and Emmett had left his gun sitting on the table. It's not like I killed the guy. I just shot him in the foot. It was a good thing I left Edward's gun up in my room, his old room. I would have ended up killing the guy with that one. It was a larger caliber gun, and does a good deal of damage.

Yes, I kept Edward's gun… the one I shot James with. I kept a lot of Edward's things, but his gun was one thing that I told the family that I would never part with. It was his favorite, and he always had it on him. It just felt like I had him here with me. It helped me get through things.

Elizabeth and EJ came stomping in the house, slamming the door behind them. They both walked over and sat on the couch, where they knew they better be.

"Alright, what happened?" I asked them, in a nonchalant voice. I knew this either was either something that really didn't need this kind of reaction, or EJ was just egging her on.

"Mom, he took my car out for a joyride, and scratched the side of it. Then tried to sneak in the house without telling me." Elizabeth whined. But there was something else under her voice. I wasn't sure what yet.

"So you thought it was ok to go and shoot him, just so he would learn a lesson? That hardly seems fair, Eli." I told her, sitting down in the chair across from them.

"But, mom, he can't keep doing this shit! He's going to tear everything I have to pieces! He did this when we were little, and I let it slide then." She defended.

"Mom, it's not like I crashed her car. It's just a little scratch. Unless you're anal retentive and check every single surface, you can't really see it." EJ spoke up, defending himself.

I scrubbed my hands down my face. Geez, these two are so much alike. So much like Edward.

I looked over to Elizabeth and saw that her jaw was clenched shut, tightly. She usually only did that when something major was bothering her. I guess I was right earlier. It's not just the scratch.

"EJ, upstairs." I tilted my head towards the stairs, and he huffed and ran up to his room.

I turned back to my daughter and looked at her face. I could see pain in it, now. This couldn't be good.

"What's up? And don't tell me it's just the scratch on your car. Something is bugging you, and I can see it. Your dad used to do the same thing with his jaw when he was upset. You've gotta talk to me, baby." I spoke softly to her, hoping I'd get something.

She finally let a tear roll down her cheek. I think I'm getting close to a nerve.

"Is it your dad?" I asked, finally getting something out of her. She let go a sob that she had been holding in, and I went over to her, pulling her into my arms.

"Mom it's so unfair! Every girl at school has a dad that she can do stuff with, and teaches them all sorts of things… I don't have a dad to do that. I had to miss the father-daughter dance a few years ago, I didn't have a dad to scrutinize my first date, or to teach me about guns, or the family business. I mean, yeah aunt Rose taught me about cars, uncle Em and uncle Jazz taught me about guns, you taught me how to drive, you all taught us about the family, but I never had a dad around for that. I wanted… someone to compare guys to, like if they were even close to being as good as my dad, or something like that. I know I'm being stupid, but I wanted my daddy, growing up! He's never going to walk me down the aisle when I get married!" She started sobbing into my shoulder by this point.

God… I knew they would have a breaking point, someday. I guess I wasn't really ready for this.

"Baby, I know you feel cheated, but how do you think EJ feels? I'm sure he's missing him just as much as you are. What brought all this on, suddenly?" I asked, trying to coax it out of her.

She hesitated a little, but finally told me what was wrong. "They're doing senior recognition next week at the football game, and they wanted everyone's parents to attend with us. Dad's not going to be there with us, and it just struck something in me… that I'm a senior in high school and we're graduating in the summer… he's missed so much of our lives… This is a huge milestone… I just wish dad was here." She kept on crying.

I just sat there and rocked her for a while. As I sat there, I realized there was one thing I had never done. I should have done this a few years ago, maybe when they were fourteen or fifteen, but they need this.

"EJ, you can come in here." I said, not having to yell because I knew him. He'd be sitting on the stairs, making sure his sister was ok.

A couple of seconds later, he came walking in with his hands in his pockets.

"Alright, come on. We're going somewhere. Get your coats, and meet me in the car." I told them, then walked upstairs to my room.

I walked into the closet where I kept some of my memories and things… this would help them, even if only a little bit.

I made my way down to the car with the box, stowed it in the back, and got in the driver seat.

When we came up to the old bookstore I used to work at, they both gave me questioning looks.

"This is where you dad was killed…" I whispered to them, feeling the lump in my throat from remembering that day.

We all got out of the car and walked over to the sidewalk where it all happened. I looked around, seeing it all happening again in my mind.

"Where was he?" Eli asked in a low voice.

I knew what she was talking about, and walked over to the spot where he was shot.

She came over to where I was, and sat on the sidewalk, pulling her knees up to her chest.

She sat there for a while before she looked up at me. I saw the tear streaks going down her face.

"Oh baby… please don't cry. He was trying to protect his family that day… and me. James, the man that shot him, was from the Volturi mob. They had been after your father and the family for a long time. You know by now that we've taken care of most all of them. But that day, James wanted to use your dad's one weakness against him; me. We both should have seen it coming, but we were in our own world. I don't really blame either of us, because we knew they would do whatever it took to get at this family.

"So that day, when your dad came to pick me up, James came around the corner and approached us. He shot your dad in the stomach and he went down. I turned and shot James myself, in the shoulder and knee.

"That was the only time I had to tell him about you. At the time, I only knew I was pregnant, but not that I was having twins. I think, though, that you two being twins, was your dad's way of giving himself back to me and the rest of the family. Come on, we have another stop to make." I told them, and made my way back to the car.

EJ came to the car not long after I did, but Elizabeth took a few minutes to stay there, where her dad took his last breath.

We made our way back to the Cullen house, and around to the back of the property, where the family plot was at.

"Mom…" Elizabeth asked, hesitantly.

"We're going to see your daddy." I told them, and got out of the car, grabbing the box from the back.

They both followed me to the spot where we laid Edward to rest. There was a large tombstone marking where he was, but it was nothing spectacular. Just a very large stone, name, dates, and I made sure they put 'Loving Son, Husband, and Father'

I turned to watch EJ and Eli come up and look at the stone. Eli had tears in her eyes, and EJ had a somber expression on his face.

"Come sit with me. I want to show you two something." I said, sitting on the ground, them following my lead.

I opened the box and was transported back to a time when my life changed.

I pulled out some of the photos of him, and us together, handing them to EJ and Eli.

"I know I've told you things about your dad and you've seen the picture of him in the apartment. I've kept most of this hidden away, because it was hard to go back and look at. But over the years, it's gotten a little easier. I never took down the photo of you father and I because I always wanted you to know what he looked like. But really, all EJ had to do was look in the mirror. You are the spitting image of your dad. Everything about you is the same as him. Eli, you too. You're the female version of him. Same hair, eyes, nose, jaw, the way you both have a crooked grin. That was his. One of my favorite things about him. He never failed to stop my breathing when he did that, either. But, these are some of the things I put away, for safe keeping." I slid the box over to them so they could go through it.

They pulled out a few of the clothes I kept of his, some of his favorite trinkets. Some things that I could just never part with of his, like his watch, his comb, which was never of any real use to him for obvious reasons, even a little die-cast car that he kept, even though he could obviously afford the real thing. Just things like that, that I felt like I had to keep.

"Mom, can I keep some of these pictures?" Elizabeth asked as she was going through some of them.

I thought about it for a minute. "Yeah… You know what? I'm going to put some of these back up in the house. It's been almost eighteen years, I've been holding this off for so long… I want to be able to walk through the house and see his face everywhere. I miss seeing it whenever I turn around. I'm sorry I didn't have more of his stuff up, but with dealing with losing him, then preparing for the two of you and staying with your grandparents, I just tucked away the things that weren't really pertinent to running the house with two kids. But I swore that you would always know your dad. Not just some of the stories, or a picture on the wall. But things like this, that were his. " I saw as EJ pulled out Edward's second gun. I knew I had put it somewhere. He always kept two on him. And another in the car.

"This was his…" EJ whispered reverently as he held it in his hands.

"Yeah. It was one of his favorites. I've got his other one. It's the one I always carry around." I told him.

"Can I keep it?" He asked as he looked up at me with pleading eyes.

"Of course you can. I think it still works. But it'll probably need a good cleaning. I know he'd want you to have it."

"Can I have his watch, mom?" Elizabeth asked me, with still watery eyes.

I smiled at her, understanding that she wanted a piece of her dad as well. "Sure you can, sweetie."

We sat there for a while, just thinking. I was remembering my time with Edward and how much I still wish he was here to see how far his kids have come. Who knows, maybe we would have had more kids.

That thought had me crying again.

"I want you two to know how very proud of you, your father would have been. Family was everything to him, and you would have been his shining glory. I know you're mine. When I told him I was pregnant with you, his eyes were shining so brightly. He was as excited to have a smaller version of us, as I was. And I prayed, from day one, that you would look like him. Your dad was the epitome of gorgeous. And if you look at your grandpa, your dad would have aged just as gracefully. The only difference I see in grandpa Carlisle from when I first met him, is that there's a some graying at his temples. Nothing else has changed. if your dad was still here, I see him sort of like that. A few grays at his temple, maybe a little more mature looking, but the exact same as the day I met him."

EJ held up a picture of me and Edward together and just looked at it.

"We really do look like him." He whispered to no one in particular. "Sure, you can tell from the picture at home, but from these, you can see so much more of him and he really does look exactly like us, Eli."

"No matter what, you two have always had part of your dad with you. I hope you can see that better from this stuff… H-he told me, in a letter I found after he died, that he would always be with me. And I believe him. I feel him around me sometimes, and I can feel his love and the familiar electricity I always felt when he was close by. It's always just been the little hairs on the back of my neck feeling like a gust of wind has gone over it… I know that it's him."

Eli and EJ had an arm wrapped around each other by now. Eli with her head on EJ's shoulder, with a few tears from both of them as they kept looking at the picture EJ was holding.

I felt the wind pick up and the feeling I usually got around Edward came back to me. I knew it was him again.

Eli and EJ both noticed the look on my face, which was probably serene and understanding. Then Eli looked up at the sky, and the wind. I knew she was probably feeling it too.

"I love you, daddy. Miss you so much." Eli whispered to the air, as EJ kissed her temple.

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><p>Ok, so I think that's gonna be it for this story. I love it, personally. So, like it, hate it, love it, doesn't matter, let me know. I like to know if you guys like it or not.<p> 


	3. AN nomination

You know what you guys? I totally didn't tell y'all when voting would start. Whoops! Sorry peeps!

Anyways, I'm just reposting the info for voting and all that. (no I haven't written more for the story. Sorry! I'm just replacing chapter 3 with this.)

Well, it seems someone (Lola) liked this story enough to nominate it for a 'Sunflower award'.

Thank you so much!

If you guys liked this story, please go vote. It'd mean a lot.

It was nominated for 'Best Bella' (which I find awesome, but they had to put me up against 'Skyping with strangers'…. I love that story. Lol)

http:/thesunflowerawards*dot*blogspot*dot*com/2011/10/nominations*dot*html

Go here, and obviously replace *dot* with actual (.).

Voting starts January 29th, and goes until February 19th. Go vote on the 29th!

Thanks for all the support, even though not too many people have read this story, I appreciate those of you that have. This is one of my favorite stories of mine. Even if it's only a two shot. Lol

Laters!

Amy


	4. AN

Heya! I know you guys are probably tired of me updating and there not being new story stuff, but I wanted to let you guys know that my beta and sorella, LaurieWhitlock, made a banner, picture, whatever you want to call it, for this story. And I wanted to let you all know that the link is on my profile if you want to see it. I can't thank her enough for it.

And remember you guys, go vote on January 29th for this story for the Sunflower award, for best Bella.(also Lola's doing. Lol)

And more than likely there won't be anymore updates for this story, unless it wins, then I'll let you guys know. Other than that, laters!


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